Congressman Bennie Thompson (From House Homeland Security hearing livestream)
- The Mississippi Democrat’s comments came Thursday during a House Homeland Security hearing. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from the attack while Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, continues to fight for his life.
Mississippi’s lone Democrat Congressman Bennie Thompson has called the ambush-style attack in Washington, D.C. in November on two West Virginia National Guardsmen an “unfortunate accident.”
The attack left one guardsmen dead while the other is in critical condition.
Thompson’s comments came during the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security hearing Wednesday that was focused on worldwide threats to America’s homeland. He is the ranking Democratic member on the committee.
In addressing Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Thompson referred to the murders as an “unfortunate accident,” to which Noem asked, “You think that was an unfortunate accident? It was a terrorist attack.”
Thompson then waved his hand at Noem, and said, “Wait. Wait. Look I’ll get it straight. Then you can respond.”
“He shot our national guardsmen in the head,” Noem said.
“Look,” Thompson said, asking Committee Chairman Andrew R. Garbarino (R-NY) to direct the witness to allow him to ask his question. Garbarino stayed silent.
“It was an unfortunate situation,” Thompson continued. “But you blamed it solely on Joe Biden.”
He then asked who approved the asylum application for the person who committed the attack.
Noem tried to respond by saying, “Mr. Thompson, this individual who came into the country…” but Thompson cut her off.
Noem then told Thompson, despite his attempts to interrupt, that Rahmanullah Lakanwal was an Afghan national who entered the U.S. in 2021 under the Biden administration during Operation Allies Welcome. Noem said asylum seekers are to have a check-in each year and the Biden administration failed in that regard.
“They vetted this individual, allowed them into our country and did not do due diligence,” Noem said, as Thompson kept attempting to interrupt.
Thompson noted that the Trump administration DHS approved the asylum application, to which Noem said it was under the Biden administration’s policies at the time prior to the Trump administration’s changes.
Joe Kent, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, then added that Lakanwal was vetted by the Biden administration as a soldier to serve in Afghanistan “as a ruse” to bring him to the U.S.
An unidentified Congressman cut into the exchange to counter Thompson’s description of the event.
“Point of order Mr. Chairman, that was a murder that took place in D.C. It was not an unfortunate incident and those comments are F-n disrespectful,” the Congressman said.
Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from the attack while Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, continues to fight for his life.
Lakanwal, 29, has been charged with first-degree murder. He has pleaded not guilty.
